BANGKOK: Thailand's Pollution Control Department (PCD) has warned residents in the capital Bangkok and its surrounding areas to brace for worsening air quality as dust particle accumulation is likely to rise this week.

Most areas in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region are expected to see a constant increase in PM 2.5 pollutants due to poor air circulation starting from Tuesday until Friday, prompting an alarm over unhealthy levels of air pollution, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the PCD.

About 238 fire hotspots, mainly from agricultural burning, were detected on Sunday across the Southeast Asian country, satellite images from the Thai Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency showed.